The ongoing criminalization of the Internet is raising the security stakes. Spam will remain a widespread annoyance. Hackers will keep pumping out new viruses every day.
Yet the primary computer security threats will come increasingly from large-scale data theft, whether it be organized criminals exploiting Trojan horses and spyware to steal private information, or racketeers who threaten to shut down corporate Web sites if they aren’t paid off. Online protection will require detective work and undercover intelligence, not just security guards.